A magazine for the intellectually curious
Pros:
Articles are written by people with knowledge of the topic
Cons:
none that I can think of
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I have been reading Scientific American for several years and it is the only magazine I subscribe to. (I guess now I know why my high school friends thought I was weird.)
Topics: If you could take it as a science class or talk about it in a science class, it is in this magazine. It will and has discussed everything from astronomy to zoology.
Audience: Any one who is interested in science and how things work and want more than a 30 second evening-news explanation. Even older children (teenagers) will enjoy it, even if they dont always understand it. . The editors and authors have high standards and good grasp of their audiences level of understanding. Explanations are detailed, clear, and readable. In order to properly explain a detailed concept, they will describe all of the parts/steps, rather than leave out parts just make it easier.
Types of Articles: They have brief 1-3 paragraph snippets, 1 page summaries, full length articles, and in some issues, a series of articles about different aspects of one topic. For example, the latest issue has several articles about the human genome. One of the articles focuses on the business of the human genome: whose mapping the genome, how they are doing it (there is more than one method), and what genetic tests are being developed as a result of the mapping. The other articles talk about the development of new drugs and what we will do with the information provided in the genome. I like hearing about a topic in depth because gives me the ability to gauge how this information may/will affect my life.
A really cool, get-your-hands-dirty feature is the Amateur Scientist where they describe how to do experiments in your kitchen. The latest issue has a method for doing PCR (replicating DNA) at home. Not a cheap procedure, but rather cool, nonetheless. The also have a page devoted to mathematical puzzles you can (try to) solve and in the back of the magazine are short reviews of popular science-oriented books.
Illustrations: The authors do a wonderful job of making topics easy to understand. Illustrations are often an integral part of this process and are used very effectively. They are colorful, artistic, and informativenever overwhelming or obnoxious.
Advertising: Advertising, although present, is not disruptive to the flow of the articles. I have never had the experience of being sent to the end of the magazine in search of the last half of an article. I dont know about you, but I find that practice highly annoying.
Further Information: If an article has sufficiently sparked your interest you can continue to explore the topic using the list of related books, articles, and sources of more information provided at the end of the article.
Basically, this magazine satisfies my love for science. The newspaper, or even an in-depth news magazine, just does not present the material as concisely or as straightforward as Scientific American does. This magazine encourages science and makes me feel like there are other people out there interested in more than the next episode of Ally McBeal or the newest non-fat packaged food item.
